Unexpected often happens
by BabygirlandFin
Summary: After Sunnydale is destroyed and the Scooby Gang moving on.


**Disclaimer: All characters and basic concepts used in this story are the property of their respective owners.**

**I don't own nothing**

**They are used solely and only for entertainment purposes. A copyright infringement is not intended or implied.**

_**Credit - a**_** special thanks** **goes to - **_**pink chocolate unicorn without you would not have been possible. I'm glad to have you by my side - **_**Again and again 3**_** Thank you.**_

_Challenge:_

_Eight years after Sunnydale_

_A vase breaks_

_A baby (already born)_

_An old friend re-appears_

_An argument_

One-shot.

**Unexpected often happens**

The blonde slayer finally had time for herself now. She had just put her young daughter into bed, having just finished reading her a good-night-story until the little cutie had finally fallen asleep.

She gently stroked her daughter's head, turned off her daughter's small lamp and whispered "Good night" and silently left the room. She quietly closed the door and went into the living room to watch some TV. She flopped down on the couch and put on a random movie. It didn't matter which movie it was, her thoughts were still on the call that she'd received in the afternoon.

The call had rattled her. She hadn't expected it.

He knew nothing of the child who had inherited traits from of both of them. Blond hair, Emily's face nearly identical to Buffy's when she'd been Emily's age. His fawn brown eyes, his temper, his way of joking. Her daughter reminded Buffy of the child's father every day. The father whom the child didn't know.

Her thoughts continued, racing as she remembered how two best friends turned into lovers. She could still recall the night when they first had sex with each other.

_They both dressed up. Buffy's hair fell freely in soft waves and she wore light blue denims and a black, backless top. Xander had styled his hair with some product and he, too, wore light blue denims and a white shirt._

_When they entered The Silver, it was already quite crowded, but they still managed to get empty seats. They sat down on one of the club's black couches and observed the room. The blond slayer noticed that the club appeared to be similar to The Bronze._

_Buffy caught Xander's eyes, the pair of them making eye contact. For the first time, they both found something different there. Something which they hadn't discovered in seven years of friendship. At the same time, they leaned in towards the other._

_But the blonde hesitated. "No, Xan, we can't," Buffy said, shaking her head. "We can't risk our friendship." She stood up quickly and went to the bar._

_When she reached the bar to order some drinks, she turned just so, keeping him in her line of sight but without him noticing it. She was so lost in her own mind that didn't register the barkeep asking her about her order. The guy just shrugged his shoulders, moved on and started serving the other guests._

_The blond slayer reconsidered whether it would change anything if she just avoided the situation. Alas, she was no coward normally. She just wasn't sure about it in this case. He was her best friend! She decided to shut off her thoughts and get some drinks._

_She arrived back at the table, where he was still waiting wistfully. He looked at her with his beautiful fawn brown eyes and she really had to pull herself together, to stop herself from just going for it. She grabbed his glass and when their fingers touched, they both felt as if they'd been electrocuted. The glanced into each other's eyes again. Before anything could happen, the blonde got up again and drew the brunette man to the dance floor._

_Xander couldn't grasp what was happening to him and just let his companion lead him. Where to? It didn't matter. He was content just being with her. The music changed from something loud and bass heavy, the DJ switching to something slower. With barely a pause, they huddled against each other, dancing to the music._

_The rhythm of the music had them shifting closer, snuggling up even closer to the other. They were so close now. They stared into their counterpart's eyes, again. And before they could do anything to stop it, their lips touched, joining them in a kiss. It seemed as if the world had stopped moving and only they existed._

_After a small eternity, they parted and breathed in deeply. They both continued to stand close, watching the other and smiling at each other._

_"Well, I guess we can forget about the friendship thing, if it's gonna continue like this", joked Buffy._

_"And what if, Buffster? I've always loved you," Xander admitted bluntly. "It stopped while I was together with Cordelia and later Anya, but you were always hot", he added._

_"I dunno, Xan," Buffy said, still unsure. "Should we really start this?"_

_Usually, Buffy wasn't shy at all, but this— This would change everything…_

Buffy heard the quiet cries from her daughter's room. She got up and hurried towards her child. Opening the door, she turned on the light and was greeted by tired eyes which were gazing at her. The blond walked to the bed and took her small daughter into her arms. "Hey, sweety. Are you thirsty?" She kissed her daughter's forehead and stood, headed towards the kitchen. Entering the kitchen, she grabbed a bottle and filled it with some chamomile tea—the best thirst quencher for little children known to mankind.

Emily drank some of the tea her mom had given to her, wrinkling her nose as she did so.

Buffy looked at her. "I'm sorry, honey, but no juice for you right now." Buffy turned off the light in the kitchen and walked over to the living room, the toddler in her arms. She decided to go for the CD-Player instead of watching TV. She sat down on the couch and settled Emily against her front. The little girl went back to sleep almost immediately, as did her mom.

The oldest slayer who ever lived awoke, startled by a pat at her face. Two fawn brown child's eyes watched her.

"Mommy", the small one squeaked happily when she saw her mother awake.

Buffy rubbed her eyes tiredly and gave her child a kiss on the mouth. "Good morning, honey." She sat up slowly, her mind already racing again. The blonde shook her head and gazed at her daughter. "Shall we have some breakfast?" The child nodded in confirmation.

As she was making her way to the kitchen, she remembered that Xander had said he'd be coming for a visit this morning. She didn't know why she had butterflies in her stomach and the same time felt immensely insecure. No, she did know... She was afraid of his reaction. After all, she hadn't phoned him all those years ago, to tell him of the pregnancy.

After the argument, they'd phoned each other every now and then, but having sex with each other had changed their relationship. They started to avoid each other. Couldn't look each other in the eyes. Nonetheless, she was delighted at the thought of seeing her old friend Xander once more.

She smiled. "Honey, do you know who is going to see us later?" As expected, the little one didn't know and shook her head. Buffy got her situated into her high chair and answered to her child:"Your Daddy will be here soon." While she was giving her daughter a peck on the cheek, the door bell rang. Buffy cussed quietly, muttering under her breath so her daughter wouldn't hear."What is it, it's only—" She glanced at the kitchen clock. "What? It's already nine o'clock?" She took the little girl out of the chair again and went to answer the door.

She opened the door to see Xander, stood in front of her and looking at the two girls aghast. "Hello, Buffy." He lowered eyes and gazed at the toddler. "And who are you?", he asked, his eyes still on the child but clearly asking Buffy.

"This is Emily," Buffy said plainly. "Come in, we were just about to eat breakfast. If you want, you can…" she left her sentence unfinished, noticing her daughter had caught Xander's full attention. Together, they went into the house.

Xander observed how Buffy sat the child—apparently her daughter—into the high chair, not noticing his former girlfriend asking him whether he wanted to have some coffee. Buffy had a child. Buffy had a child. Wait—Buffy had a child!? But with whom? He thought about it... The child's age matched approximately. This led him to a surprising solution. He was fascinated by the little one. She had his eyes, he'd seen that immediately.

He gathered all his courage and asked: "Is she… my daughter?" He regarded Buffy closely, waiting for her reaction.

The blonde went on as if she hadn't heard a thing, took two coffee mugs out of the cabinet and placed them and the coffee pot on the table. She stepped back to the sideboard, grabbing milk and sugar. She continued by quickly mixing a cocoa for Emily and finally settled down at the table, next to Xander and her daughter, sliding a plate of food towards her daughter. She gave the bottle to the latter, somewhat cautiously. The child was exceptionally strong for her age.

The reason for that was most probably the spell Willow had spoken at the Hellmouth, back then.

Buffy had quit the slayer thing, she wanted to care for her child first and foremost now. Demons could go and get stuffed as far as she was concerned. There were thousands of potentials out there, someone else get their asses kicked.

Xander cleared his throat. Buffy turned to him, silently acknowledging that he looked disappointed. But he had been the one who had simply left after the night. She hadn't wanted to tell him on the phone.

"Yeah, she's yours, too", she replied. She still felt somewhat depressed that he hadn't been there for their daughter's birth. Instead, Willow had flown in from Cleveland two weeks before the date. She'd come to support Buffy, managing to bring Faith and Giles with her.

Giles, his heart still full of fatherly love for Buffy, had wanted to be there for her during the birth. The small one was his grandchild of heart, after all. Only Xander had been missing. She could have told him… but she hadn't had the courage—afraid of his reaction.

The dark-haired man got up to kneel next to Buffy and Emily. "I'm so sorry to have left you alone. I didn't know that you were pregnant. It was as if someone had flipped the switch after that night. My greatest dream came true and I was afraid that our friendship wouldn't be as it had been before. And now... I am sad that I couldn't be there for her birth. He looked Buffy in the eyes. "I'm so sorry, Buffy. Things should have gone so differently. We were a good team, weren't we? Best friends who shared everything with each other… except the bed. And then—we did. I was insecure. I didn't know how to face you again."

Xander turned to Emily, looking earnestly at the little girl and vowed: "I promise you that I will try to be a better papa for you. Better than I have been," he mumbled to himself and continued to look at her. "Can I take her out of her chair?" he asked Buffy.

"Why are you asking me? She's your daughter, too." Buffy got up and stood next to him. "It's great that you're here." She hugged him quickly, but tightly, which he answered with an equally strong hug.

She pulled away and pointed at Emily, "She knows better than anyone who is allowed to pick her up." She watched as Xander approaced Emily, wary but determined. "Xander, will it be okay if I shower quickly? Do you think you two can manage on your own?" She saw him nod. Smiling, she looked at him. "Thanks, Xan. Have fun," she said and quickly left the kitchen.

"Okay, well… all on my own… with my daughter. Uhm, Buffy?!" Xander shouted after her, but she didn't answer. Probably happily shut in the bathroom. With a courageous smile at Emily, he carefully manuvered her out of her highchair. She clung to her daddy and laughed happily.

The blonde slayer shook her head, easing out of her hiding place around the corner. "Totally Xander," she murmured and made her way to her bedroom. She went to the wardrobe to pick out some clothes to take with her to the bathroom. She then moved to the bathroom, taking out two towels to dry herself after the shower. Buffy stripped while waiting for the shower to reach the right temperature. She got under the water spray, feeling the comfort of the water drops hitting her skin.

Her thoughts went back to that day more than two years ago. To what had happened in the very same flat, she was now standing in.

_After the club _

_After the club, they went to her place, holding hands. When they arrived there, Buffy unlocked the door. Xander pressed her up against the wall and kissed her. And when they finally went upstairs, there was no turning back._

_The next morning, both of them woke with shock, staring at each other and wanting to believe that it had been a dream. The blonde turned her head, observing Xander and wondering what she should say..._

_"Good morning!" She blurted. She saw that her best friend was as embarrassed as she._

_Xander was awake, too."Good morning," he said, squinting. He turned his head towards his bed mate, "Oh gosh, my head hurts. Don't you have a headache, too?" he asked her, pressing a palm into his forehead and wincing._

_"No, I don't." She wanted to get out of this as fast as possible, still majorly embarrassed. _

_"Gotta be because of you being a slayer," Xander reasoned, smiling. He tried getting out of the bed carefully, mindful of his nudity. But due to the blankets wrapped around his legs, turned into a herculean task._

_"Why don't you just get up?" Buffy asked, trying not to laugh at Xander fighting with the sheets. "There's nothing I haven't seen," she reasoned._

_And it was out._

_"Buffy! I'm totally embarrassed to be in bed with one of my best girlfriends and now you're throwing such phrases around!" He jumped out of bed, threw on his clothes, left the room and went downstairs. Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, he took a deep breath. "NO, NO, NO! It can't be true!" Xander looked around, spotting a vase which met the wall soon after that._

_Roused by the noise, Buffy rushed over to the top of the stairs and looked down at Xander. "Hey! Don't smash my things."_

_She stormed downstairs, having put on a top and some trousers beforehand._

_Xander kept his eyes on her. "Sorry," he nearly shouted. She flinched a little in reaction to his unfamiliar tone. "I'm sorry, okau? Buffy… I need time to process it. I'm as much to blame as you. I always thought that you're hot. But I... Never did I think we'd sleep together and such things…" He slowly drew nearer to her. "I'll call you when I've come to terms with it myself, okay?" He bid her goodbye and left the flat without looking back._

_The blonde watched Xander walk away, a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach. What should she do? Stop him? No—Why should she? Xander made his feelings on the matter clear. She sighed and started gathering the pieces of the broken vase._

After she finished her shower, Buffy quickly put on her clothes and marched back to the kitchen. Entering the kitchen, she took in the scene: Emily sitting on Xander's lap, squeaking with the pleasure of seeing her mother.

"Mama!" Emily cried happily, lifting and waving her tiny arms.

Xander straightened his head to look at her, too. "Buffy, I think—We have a lot to talk about." He got up from his chair, taking Emily with him. "One thing I'm sure about, though. I want to be here for you and Emily. Will you let me? I've gotten my feelings figured out, about what I suppressed for years. I love you."

"Well, Mr. Harris, you just sounded like an utter scumbag," Buffy said dryly. "But Emily needs her daddy." Buffy moved to stand next to him, the toddler between them. Xander gave Emily and then Buffy a peck on the cheek. "The future will show us what's still to come, Xander."


End file.
